Accounting for Lawyers: Beyond the Balance Sheet-Recognizing the Red Flags of FraudDare we say it: accounting for lawyers can be fun?
Our new program comes right from what you’ve told us you need to know about accounting. Instead of just a review of the basic financial statement, Accounting for Lawyers II: Beyond the Balance Sheet, The Red Flags of Fraud will help lawyers identify the markers of potential trouble. Listen to our lively and insightful lawyers, who have proven time and again their ability to make sense out of “numbers” and “spreadsheets,” as they team up with leading forensic accounting and business valuation experts to walk through several true-to-life scenarios. Case discussion will three different “schemes:” revenue recognition; loan portfolio reserves and losses; and, small business cash flow projections.

Hot Topics in Partnership Taxation (11.15.10)This program will cover the recent changes and proposals affecting the taxation of partnerships, including recent developments in the tax treatment of carried interests and the tax treatment of series LLCs.

The Work Product Doctrine: How Does it Apply to Accounting Work Papers After Textron? (5.27.10)A premier faculty will analyze the limits of the work product doctrine as it relates to accounting work papers, and the impact of the First Circuit`s decision in Textron. Learn what practitioners and companies can do to protect sensitive documents from disclosure.

A Practical Guide to LLCs and LLPs (Original Live Program Date: 4/2/08)An expert panel will present a practical guide to the use of LLCs and LLPs. The panel will provide concrete advice on critical formation and early-stage issues, such as the advantages and disadvantages of the LLC/LLP form, a comparison of LLCs and LLPs to corporations, the tax benefits of the LLC/LLP form and the choice of state law. As part of the choice-of-entity discussion, the panel will discuss specific businesses, fact patterns and exit strategies that may dictate the choice-of-entity decision. The panel will describe the mechanics of forming an LLC/LLP and the content of the principal agreements incidental to such formation, including the basic operating agreement. Various management structures and control arrangements of LLCs and LLPs will be examined and considered from different perspectives and in different strategic and investment scenarios. The use of LLPs for law and other professional practices will be discussed, including current issues and events potentially testing their effectiveness with respect to liability. Securities issues will be considered in the context of the formation and growth of an LLC or an LLP. The panel also will examine various executive and other compensation structures in the context of an LLC, including in particular the use of equity-based incentive compensation arrangements and a comparison to traditional corporate stock option plans. The program is intended to provide to practitioners a comprehensive introduction to LLCs and LLPs in a practical and useful context.
4.5 credits in professional practice

Accounting for Lawyers (Original Live Program Date: 6/23/09)No matter what an attorney's more specific area of practice, the ability to read and understand basic financial information adds value to delivering high-quality services to clients. Accounting for Lawyers is designed for all lawyers who need and want to gain a clearer understanding of accounting and financial statements and the use of such information in real-life practice situations. Offering both a traditional step-by-step instruction on the basics of the financial statements, as well as an in-depth, practical case study, the course offers the practicing lawyer the skills to read and interpret accounting and financial statements as it may apply to diverse professional matters.
This program provides 4.0 credits in professional practice

Credit Derivatives & Bankruptcy Law: What the Securities, Finance & Bankruptcy Practitioner Needs to Know About These Products (Original Live Program Date: 3/10/09)An expert panel will present a practical guide to credit default swap (CDS) transactions and markets and their possible impact on fundamental debtor-creditor relationships. The focus of which will be in the context of a bankruptcy or workout concerning a CDS's reference obligor. The panel will examine the structure and trading of so called "single-name" CDS, which reference specific corporations or other obligors, as well as index products and CDS based on asset-backed securities. It will also explain the relevant legal and regulatory framework within which CDS trading occurs, including securities and commodities laws, and explore relevant aspects of bankruptcy and restructuring rules and processes.
This program provides 2.5 credits in professional practice

Hedge Funds: Formation, Operation, & Compliance (Original Live Program Date: 9/7/07)The hedge fund industry has grown exponentially over the past few years and particular hedge funds have been making headline news for both good and bad reasons. The industry has attracted the attention of investors and regulators more than ever.
This course will provide an overview of the rules related to operating a hedge fund. Faculty will discuss how to avoid problems in the enforcement environment and provide best practices for protecting hedge fund advisers from liability. The registration process, requirements applicable to a registered advisers and operating issues involving hedge funds will be examined. Finally, top practitioners and representatives of the SEC will discuss the SEC's views on hedge fund issues.
Although this program is intended for professionals in the hedge fund industry, as well as experienced lawyers who practice in hedge funds, lawyers who are interested in developing hedge fund expertise will also benefit.

Structuring and Negotiating Private Equity InvestmentsThis program will provide an overview of the contractual, regulatory, tax and economic issues involved in structuring and negotiating private equity investments from a private equity fund perspective. It will cover basic private equity fund structures and terms, their impact on private equity investments, and associated tax and regulatory issues facing private equity fund investors. In addition to addressing private equity fund structures and issues, topics covered will include co-investment structures and direct private equity transactions, primary and secondary investments in private equity funds, as well as 'direct secondary' investments. The program will also address issues and considerations arising under the US Investment Advisers Act of 1940, the US Securities Act of 1933, the US Employee Retirement Security Act of 1974, and relevant US and non-US tax considerations. Finally, the program will cover recent trends and developments affecting the private equity investment market in light of recent economic and regulatory developments.

The Cans and Cant’s of Trust DecantingA trustee’s power to pay over assets from one trust to another is a valuable technique. Whether relying on common law, EPTL 10-6.6(b), or another state statute specifically authorizing a transfer, the ability to pour over or “decant” assets from one trust to another permits a trustee to accomplish tax goals (for example, to change a grantor trust to a non-grantor trust or avoid state fiduciary income tax), to change provisions relating to trustees, to add or delete spendthrift provisions, and to achieve many other planning goals and objectives. This program will address the prerequisites for taking advantage of this powerful tool, provide drafting tips and practical advice about the potential uses of decanting and explain when decanting is unavailable. This program is aimed at lawyers with a basic understanding of the drafting and administration of trusts.

Representing Clients in Federal & State Criminal Tax InvestigationsThis program will focus on how attorneys can best represent taxpayers under criminal investigation. Some of the topics to be covered include: elements of commonly prosecuted federal and state tax crimes, current IRS, DOJ Tax, and New York State prosecution initiatives, reacting to the commencement of the investigation, administrative versus grand jury investigations, methods of proof, common defenses, attorney-client and joint defense issues, hiring of accountants to assist defense counsel, whether to file (or amend) returns while under investigation, parallel civil IRS issues (including offers-in-compromise and civil fraud penalties), voluntary disclosures to state and federal authorities, expert testimony at trial, and sentencing issues under the United States Sentencing Guidelines.

Tax Controversies: Negotiating & Resolving Disputes with the IRSThis program is designed to provide lawyers, accountants, tax practitioners & taxpayers with a better understanding of the IRS examination process & useful strategies for resolving disputes with the IRS at the administrative stage. Some of the topics include current IRS priorities & initiatives relating to audits, how & why issues or taxpayers get selected for audit, responding to IRS requests for information, handling sensitive issues during an audit, the difference between civil & criminal tax issues & IRS mediation & arbitration programs.